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APEX Legends EXP Invitational Highlights Delayed By ESPN

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Apex Legends

According to ESPN, the Invitational will not be aired ‘out of respect for the victims’ of the most recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. In wake of the recent tragedy that took place in the United States of America, the Apex Legends EXP Invitational tournament’s highlights will no longer be broadcasted on ESPN 2 as was scheduled previously.

According to an email obtained by Rod “Slasher” Breslau, the network made the choice to delay the broadcast due to the tragic mass shootings that took place last weekend in the USA.

In an email to its affiliates, ESPN stated “Out of respect for the victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings, ABC will no longer air ‘EXP Invitational APEX Legends at X Games’ on Sunday,”

APEX Legends EXP Invitational Highlights

It is important to note that the actual event has already been streamed live on ESPN’s streaming service and its Twitch and YouTube channels last weekend. The broadcast on 11th August would have only been a compendium of highlights from the event.

While ESPN’s reasoning for the delay should be given its due merit, many speculate the delay is also in part due to the narrative being formed around video games causing the recent rise in violent shootings. As President Trump blamed the mass shootings in both El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, in part on violence in the media, including video games.

While actual studies do not show any link between video games as the cause of violent behavior, politicians are seeming to once again latch onto the age-old scapegoat of video games for the rise of mass shootings in the country.

A move that was responded to by the Entertainment Software Association almost immediately where it stated in response to President Trump’s claims that “More than 165 million Americans enjoy video games,” said an ESA spokesperson, “and billions of people play video games worldwide. Yet other societies, where video games are played as avidly, do not contend with the tragic levels of violence that occur in the US.”

Let us know what you think about the APEX Legends EXP Invitational Highlights being delayed.

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EA Compares Surprise Element of Loot Boxes to Mcdonald’s Happy Meal Toys

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EA Loot Boxes

EA adds shady loot boxes in its games that are often predatory. The company got into a lot of trouble for its gambling mechanics. Gambling commissions cracked down on loot boxes after how EA handled Battlefront 2. The game featured aggressive and predatory microtransactions. Riddled with Loot Boxes, Battlefront 2 sparked worldwide outrage and debate. Various Governments had to intervene to investigate the gaming industry.

This is why EA is now standing in front of the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee. In a recent statement, EA talked about loot boxes and referred to them as “ethical” which is surprising keeping in mind how many commissions see this gambling.

Kerry Hopkins, EA’s VP of legal and government affairs claimed that these aren’t loot boxes. According to EA’s new definition, these are “surprise mechanics.” It seems like a tactic to counter the negativity surrounding the term “loot boxes.”The new definition came to light when Hopkins spoke to the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee. This happened during an evidentiary hearing to investigate gambling mechanics in video games.

EA compared loot boxes to surprise toys like “FIFA packs” are something that you got free with a Mcdonalds Happy Meal. Here is what Hopkins had to say in response to one of the questions asked by Scottish National Party MP, Brendan O’Hara:

We do think the way that we have implemented these kinds of mechanics – and FIFA, of course, is our big one, our FIFA Ultimate Team and our packs – is actually quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people.

EA Loot Boxes

Netherlands and Belgium already have a “no loot box” law to protect its consumers from the likes to EA. But EA disagrees with their regulations. According to EA, these loot boxes aren’t gambling nor do they can cause gambling issues. EA’s stance is backed by Australian gambling commission which doesn’t consider loot boxes a gambling mechanic similar to slot machines.

Here is what Hopkins had to say regarding the matter:

We do agree with the UK gambling commission, the Australian gambling commission, and many other gambling commissions that they aren’t gambling, and we also disagree that there’s evidence that shows it leads to gambling. Instead, we think it’s like many other products that people enjoy in a healthy way, and like the element of surprise.

In certain regions of the world, loot boxes have been banned in games such as Overwatch. This is a problem that needs to be taken seriously and it seems that EA is ready to find back. The immediate step from EA revolves around re-naming and rebranding loot boxes. We may see new buzz words thrown around.

EA is not fooling anyone and I think that anyone that has a bit of common sense can see that EA is trying to rebrand loot boxes. I am sure that the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee will see that as well.

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Sony Forced To Refund Anthem Months After Release

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Anthem Refund

Anthem has had its fair share of issues ever since it first released. Sony and many other companies have been reluctant to refund players that bought the game. But it seems there is hope for disgruntled fans after all, at least in AUS.

An Australian gamer revealed that players can refund Anthem thanks to Australian consumer protections. On the basis of being faulty and defective. This includes re-disconnects, load times, errors, auto shutdown/database rebuild problem to name a few. Not to mention that the trailers that EA showed at E3 2017 and 2018 are fakes and are unlike the actual game at launch.

The mentioned gamer bought Anthem at launch and just a few days ago asked Sony for a refund. Not to my surprise, the refund request got denied. He then checked whether it was eligible for a refund by Australian consumer protection law. It turns out that he is eligible and so are you. He later contact Sony and mentioned the consumer protection and as expected, Sony had to comply. He contacted Sony again and mentioned that he would take things up with the authorities if he did not get his refund. It took 2 weeks for the request to go through but he did get his money back.

The Reddit user voiced his concerns and mentioned the following:

I have been ripped off by a few games… No Man’s Sky was a real eye opener for me and I hope everyone understands that just because its policy doesn’t make it legal. Often companies will deny claims outright until you demonstrate you know your rights.

Anthem ticked a lot of boxes for me and while I expected hiccups…. what we got wasn’t even close to acceptable, and not much has been done to improve the situation. Sad to see such potential lost.

Earlier, we learned that Amazon had also given refunds for Anthem after buyers mentioned how the trailer was misleading and it’s a broken product.

At this point, it is clear that the developers are having a hard time fixing the game. Most of the talent pool is working on other BioWare games. It is time to get a refund, at least try to.

Source: Reddit

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